Red Dot is all I use in 45 acp because it's so cheap. 4.5 grns under a cast 205 grn HP and blast away for me Promo is a Red Dot equivalent that's even cheaper but that's because they only offer it in 8 lb containers. I don't think it runs very dirty, but if you use lead bullets it can be pretty smoky with the softer lubes. For me, it meters fine in the dillon powder measure and I like it. Some may disagree though.

It's not as clean as WST, but a useful 45acp powder. Under lead bullets, quite accurate & I like the bulk of RD in any caliber.

__________________
"Given adequate penetration, a larger diameter bullet will have an edge in wounding effectiveness. It will damage a blood vessel the smaller projectile barely misses. The larger permanent cavity may lead to faster blood loss. Although such an edge clearly exists, its significance cannot be quantified".

I use a lot of red dot in my 9mm and 40S&W loads.. Just target loads though.. I've been told red dot is real spikey and can cause pressure problems when you try for max loads with heavy bullets with minimum OAL!!!

I use a lot of red dot in my 9mm and 40S&W loads.. Just target loads though.. I've been told red dot is real spikey and can cause pressure problems when you try for max loads with heavy bullets with minimum OAL!!!

True w/ most uberfast powders & RD is just that. It's high loft makes it a useful choice for target loads in large cases though. When I was loading 20000 of rds of 45colt a year, it was my powder of choice.

__________________
"Given adequate penetration, a larger diameter bullet will have an edge in wounding effectiveness. It will damage a blood vessel the smaller projectile barely misses. The larger permanent cavity may lead to faster blood loss. Although such an edge clearly exists, its significance cannot be quantified".

I have used 3.8 gr. HS-700X with a 185 gr. LSWC for ca 710 fps for many years - a mild and accurate load. I don't see why red Dot at similar or slightly lesser weights would not do equally well.I use HS-700X in 12 and 16 ga loads as well. If i changed over to Red SDot for my shotshell reloading I would also use it in 45 ACP.